A daily scheduled air service between Cardiff and Paris will be reinstated next month. The route between Cardiff and Paris-Orly airports will be operated by Eastern Airways on behalf of Air France. It will commence on April 21st with return fares from £69.99p
A route from the Rhoose-based airport to Paris was last operated by Spanish airline Veuling before ending last summer. Development manager for Welsh Government-owned Cardiff Airport, Marc Watkins, said: “It’s fantastic to welcome back another flag carrier to Cardiff Airport post pandemic and offer people living in Wales another capital city connection which is not only an awe-inspiring destination in itself but also a gateway to onward connections.”
Fahmi Mahjoub, general manager UK and Ireland, Air France/KLM, said: “This new cooperation between Air France and Eastern Airways is a very positive move and comes in response to the growing appetite for travel to Paris that we have noticed from all over the UK. Residents in South Wales will now be able to fly from their local airport and reach the magnificent capital of France with a direct service.
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Roger Hage, commercial director at Eastern Airways, said: “The cooperation between Eastern Airways and Air France ensures a sustainable capacity development between Wales and France offering not only direct access to Paris, but onward connections to a myriad of destinations.” Eastern Airways will also be launching new routes next month to Paris from Southampton and East Midlands airports.
Welsh Conservative Shadow Transport Minister, Natasha Asghar MS, said: “This is fantastic news for Cardiff Airport, a new airline and a new destination. This is exactly what the Welsh Conservatives been calling for, diversifying Cardiff Airport so it is not just serving a small crop of package holiday providers.
“Paris is Europe’s second biggest city for both business and leisure travellers, we hope that this new connection is a sign of things to come. Welsh Government must make sure the airport can attract even more essential connections with European economic hubs.”
Cardiff Airport is also hopeful that Qatar Airways will restart its scheduled service to Doha next year, having been suspended at the start of the pandemic. Latest figures from the Civil Aviation Authority show that in 2022 the airport handled 857,000 passengers, compared to 123,000 in 2021 when it was impacted by year long Covid related travelling restrictions.
The airport is still well below pre-Covid numbers with 1.63 million passengers in 2019. Holiday giant TUI has also confirmed 45 flights a week for its summer season at Cardiff Airport serving 22 routes. The largest number of flights are to Palma Majorca with six per week and Dalaman, Ibiza and Tenerife with three each.
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